Most Viewed Automotive Blogs (377)

Japan's Toyota -- is currently the world's largest automaker. Toyota and Volkswagen vie for that title each year -- each taking the crown from the other -- as the market moves.GM -- America's largest automaker -- is about half Toyota's size --thanks to its 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring.

Actually -- Toyota is a major car manufacturer in the U.S. In 2016 about 81% of the cars it sold in the U.S. came off American assembly lines.

Toyota was among the first to introduce gas/electric hybrid cars with the Prius twenty years ago. The company hasn't been afraid to change the car game.

All of this is to point out that Toyota understands both the car market and the infrastructure that supports the car market. Probably understands better than any other manufacturer on the planet.

Toyota hasn't grown through acquisitions as Volkswagen has, and it hasn't undergone bankruptcy and bailout as GM has. Toyota has grown by building reliable cars and trucks for decades.

When Toyota offers an opinion on the car market it's probably worth listening to.

This week Toyota reiterated -- The world is not yet ready to support a fully electric auto fleet.

Toyota's Robert Wimmer (head of energy & environmental research) said this week in testimony before the U.S. Senate, "If we are to make dramatic progress in electrification it will require overcoming tremendous challenges - challenges including : refuelling infrastructure/battery availability /consumer acceptance / and affordability.

Wimmer’s remarks come on the heels of GM's announcement that it will phase out all gas internal combustion engines (ICE) by 2035.

Tellingly, both Toyota and Honda have so far declined to make any such promises. Honda is the world's largest engine manufacturer (when you include : boats / motorcycles / lawnmowers / etc) Honda competes with Briggs & Stratton in those markets amid increased electrification of [traditionally gas powered] lawnmowers / weed trimmers /etc.

While manufacturers have announced ambitious goals just 2% of the world's cars are electric at this point.

Buyers continue to choose ICE over electric because of: price /range / infrastructure /affordability / etc. Only a small percentage of people would choose an electric car unless forced to buy.

There are 289.5 million cars just on U.S. roads as of 2021. About 98 percent of them are gas-powered.

Toyota's RAV4 took the top spot for purchases in the 2019 U.S market -- Honda's CR-V is second and GM's top seller (Equinox) comes in at #4 behind the Nissan Rogue. GM only has one entry in the U.S.top 15. Toyota and Honda dominate - each with a handful in the top 15.

Toyota warns: the US electrical grid and infrastructure simply aren't there to support the electrification of the private car fleet.

A 2017 U.S. government study found we would need about 8,500 strategically-placed charging stations to support a fleet of just 7 million electric cars. That's about six times the current number of electric cars.

But no one should be talking about supporting just 7 million cars. We should be talking about powering about 300 million within the next 20 years if all manufacturers follow GM and stop making ICE cars.

We are going to need a bigger energy boat to deal with connecting all those cars to the power grids - a WHOLE LOT bigger boat But instead of building a bigger boat we may be shrinking our boat. Power outages in California and Texas have exposed issues with power supplies even at current usage levels.

Increasing usage of wind and solar, -- both of which prove unreliable -- has driven some coal and natural gas generators offline.

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On cream cheese and Camel dreams
My bagel toasts under desert sun
I take my coffee black, usually
He places a date in my hand and I marvel at its perfection.

So, I met this friend who has the same curiosity as I. We both had the day off and he invited me on an investigative adventure.

I felt like a overprotected minor chumming with my friend and checking out an adult store.

If you know me
You may have known me
Sad housewive
Lonely housewife
Lived 3 lives, 3 weddings, 2 children, 1 life
Mine
You have been lining roadsides
Sometimes, cheering me on
Rarely attacking, because I’m pathetic or strong?
I have written of excruciating loneliness
Joyous love, cascading, flowing to a place called Malta

You have read my tumbles, rarely knocked my walk
As if, one might assume, we still feel
To other
The stranger on the street
Part of the landscape
A part you realize you’ll miss
Who I am, you are

The Devine kiss of goodbye
As seen
Reflected on other's lips
Mirroring new love
In Love's most transient form

i've been thinking about tv shows. a lot can be revealed. at least, i've come to some conclusions. although i don't have a degree in human behavior, on the fly, i'll let it rip.

i like true crime. i like to learn what makes people tick. i learn, even the nicest people are amazing artists of manipulation. i like watching shows about s*xual predators. this can range from pedos to black widows. the common ingredient is grooming.

i watch reality shows like Big Brother and watch the alliances form.

cs is most like Big Brother. great alliances until the sap falls victim to bs and loses. today's alliance is tomorrow's idiot, believing the seductions of a delusional liar.

i watch YT 24/7 for streaming. i don't have cable or TV. i search genres and use the rating system to select a film. in the past, there were likes and dislikes to help determine if it was worth a watch. lately, there's onlyu likes, zero dislikes. even when the comments read the film is crap.
can anyone explain this? it's every vid i've clicked: news, crafts, tiny house, films, everything.

Should women be allowed to back up into your home topless drinking Kombucha?

the popular term for a shot. i wish i had a dollar for every time this term was used. to jab is so unprofessional yet people clamber to be "jabbed" as if it's a good thing. i don't care if it is or isn't a vaccine. to be "jabbed" indicates a random puncture by means of force. by hither and dither these jabs occur. like nothing resembling professionalism, just a stab for stab's sake. i cringe when i hear the term. line up, cattle, get your jab here. moo moo

take pride, you jab-asses, wear your bandaid like a medal. quote "i did it for mankind" mantra. you're not fooling anyone but yourself if you call this shot a "jab".

I had dinner at a sports bar tonight with TV screens wrapping around the building. Several satellite stations were in the lineup and when they went to commercial break, the viewer was pounded mostly with Pizza, battery operated ear washer and electric SUV's.
Lexus has a whole fleet as well as Cadillac.

Back home and I Googled electric SUV's and found a few companies I've never heard of before (like Fisker) and all the major manufacturers offering at least one electric model.

Complain all you want about purchase price, finding a place to charge, exploding batteries, limited range and a few other negatives

Domino's Pizza is advertising electric delivery vehicles that are good for the planet. Who cares? That doesn't fix the taste of crappy pizza... having it delivered in an electric car doesn't make it better!

Like it or not, with all the negative aspects, electric cars are here to stay.